Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova Street 3, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia,
Int J Clin Pharm. 2013 Oct;35(5):835-40. doi: 10.1007/s11096-013-9819-3. Epub 2013 Jul 3.
The use of herbal medicines and herbal dietary supplements in Serbia is very common and many patients consume herbal preparations with conventional drug therapy.
The aim of this survey was to evaluate the consumers' awareness of herbal remedies and the safety of herbal dietary supplements, their attitude towards combining herbals and drugs, and the source of recommendations for their use.
The study included all consumers who bought herbal remedies and herbal dietary supplements in 15 pharmacies on the territory of Novi Sad during 2011 and who accepted to be interviewed.
Structured interviews using questionnaire, conducted by pharmacists. The questionnaire included 4 parts: socio-demographic characteristics of consumers, source of recommendations for the use of herbal products, attitude towards safety of herbal remedies and herbal dietary supplements use and their combination with regular drugs, as well as the question of purchased herbal products.
Consumers' attitude towards the safety and use of herbal medicines and herbal dietary supplements measured by 9 items.
The majority of interviewed participants were highly educated, aged 41-60 and they consumed herbal remedies on their own initiative or on recommendation of nonmedically educated person, without previous consultation with medical doctor or pharmacist. Out of all participants: 88.9 % did not consider it important to inform their physician or pharmacist about use of herbal remedies and herbal dietary supplements; 73.3 % found the use of herbal remedies harmless (where 9.4 % did not have any attitude towards that issue), while 40.3 % of participants regarded the combining of herbal and regular drugs unsafe.
There is a need for consumers' education on reliable use of herbal medicines and herbal dietary supplements, in order to improve their awareness of the limits of herbal remedies safety and potential risks of their combination with drugs.
在塞尔维亚，草药和草本膳食补充剂的使用非常普遍，许多患者在接受常规药物治疗的同时还会服用草药制剂。
本次调查旨在评估消费者对草药疗法的认知和草本膳食补充剂的安全性，他们对草药与药物联合使用的态度，以及推荐使用草药的来源。
本研究包括 2011 年在诺维萨德地区的 15 家药店购买草药和草本膳食补充剂的所有消费者，他们均接受了采访。
由药剂师使用问卷进行结构式访谈。问卷包括 4 个部分：消费者的社会人口统计学特征、推荐使用草药产品的来源、对草药安全性和使用的态度，以及对他们购买的草药产品的态度。
通过 9 项指标衡量消费者对草药和草本膳食补充剂的安全性和使用的态度。
大多数接受采访的参与者受教育程度较高，年龄在 41-60 岁之间，他们主动或根据非医学专业人士的建议服用草药，在服用前未事先咨询过医生或药剂师。所有参与者中：88.9%的人认为没有必要向医生或药剂师报告他们使用草药和草本膳食补充剂的情况；73.3%的人认为使用草药无害（其中 9.4%的人对此问题没有任何看法），而 40.3%的参与者认为草药与常规药物联合使用不安全。
有必要对消费者进行关于可靠使用草药和草本膳食补充剂的教育，以提高他们对草药安全性的认识以及草药与药物联合使用的潜在风险。
